


Christmas Card

by GabesBeanie



Series: Merry Christmas, Darlin' [13]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: 25 Days of Christmas, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Christmas Card, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Panic Attack, Sorry about this--
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-15 10:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13029393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabesBeanie/pseuds/GabesBeanie
Summary: 13/25 Days of Christmas || Christmas CardIt's not the holidays without family stress.





	Christmas Card

**Author's Note:**

> !! Please heed the tags. !!

Hanzo shuffled his feet in the crunchy snow, quickly pulling out his mailbox key. He hadn’t checked the mail in a few days and he doubted Genji had remembered to pick it up between work and class.

Opening their mailbox, he quickly dove forward to grab some of the letters before they hit the snow. He secured the box with a flick of his wrist and turned back towards the apartment, casually sifting through the post as he went.

_Bill… Advertisement… Bill… Ah, coupons…_

Hanzo paused mid-step when he hit the bottom of the stack, just shy of his apartment door.

It was a card, judging by the size and heft of the envelope. It had no obvious post markings on the front besides a Christmas tree stamp and his own name and address hand-written on the front.

 _A Christmas card?_ Hanzo stared at it, bemused. Had Jesse sent this to him? It seemed like the sort of cheesy, spirited thing he would do.

Hanzo’s chuckle died in his throat when he turned the card over. The envelope had been secured with golden wax, pressed into it was a seal of twin dragons devouring each other’s tails.

_Shimada._

He couldn’t breathe. His chest clenched, ears ringing, eyes shaking as he stared at the seal. His jaw clenched.

_How did they find us? We left no trace when we fled! We were supposed to be safe. We were supposed to be safe. We were supp—_

“Hanzo!”

Hanzo jerked, feeling his entire body jolt when Genji placed his hands on his shoulders. He looked scared. No. _No no no._ Genji was _safe_ , he shouldn’t be scared. His fingers tightened around the card.

“Hanzo, what’s going on?” Genji asked, trying to stay calm. “Breathe for me, brother. You need to breathe.”

“I…” Hanzo blinked, sucking in a lungful of air and holding it in for a moment before letting it out. “We… _Genji_.”

“Sit down, brother, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth,” Genji instructed, pushing lightly on his shoulders.

They were in the living room. When had they gotten inside?

Hanzo stared back down at the card, breathing in… and out… Long labored breaths leaving him, his heart punching a fluttery staccato beneath his ribs. A shiver ran down him from the crown of his head. His eyes were burning.

Genji returned with a glass of water in hand, cell phone pressed to his ear. “He is on the couch and doing some deep breathing,” he said into the receiver, wrapping his brother’s hands around the cool glass. “I gave him some water, is there anything else I should do?”

Hanzo sat numbly staring at the glass, the chill helped to ground him, settle him in reality where he had slipped. He breathed. The card was no longer in his hand, but in Genji’s. He fought the urge to rip it from his fingers, to protect him.

Genji was looking at him closely again, and he wondered if he had said that out loud. “I will do that, master, thank you,” he said into the phone before ending the call. Genji sat on the coffee table in front of him, glancing into Hanzo’s eyes for a moment before nodding to himself. “Take a sip of water, brother.”

Raising the glass to his lips felt automatic, but Hanzo could feel himself start to come back in small waves. His breathing evened out, heart slowly beginning to settle. He drank.

“How are you feeling now?”

Hanzo let out a shuddering breath, clearing his throat where it still felt tight. “I… Better. I am still not…” He gestured around his head with a grunt.

Genji nodded, seeming to understand. “Do you know… what caused it?”

“It was that,” Hanzo muttered, eyes locking onto the envelope in his brother’s hand.

With a blink, Genji ran his fingers over it before finally turning it over. His entire body stiffened upon seeing the seal.

He tore it open.

“Don’t—” Hanzo’s warning went unfinished, the envelope already shredded to reveal the card inside. On it was a picture of Hanamura castle in the winter, sakura trees bare and frosted, an icy sentry at the top of the hill.

Genji opened it.

Hanzo held his breath.

The twisted laugh that came out of his brother’s mouth was something he never wanted to hear again. Genji looked up at him, face a mix of fear and anguish.

“They wished us a Merry Christmas,” he said, voice cracking. “And said they await your return.”

“They will wait an eternity,” Hanzo growled.

Genji gave an aborted laugh, sounding slightly manic. “I can’t believe they found us…”

“It means nothing,” Hanzo snarled, glaring at the card Genji had let fall to the floor. “I will not let them drag us back to that life.”

“Neither will I.”

Hanzo startled, eyes darting up to meet his brother’s steely gaze.

“I know what they tried to do to you, Hanzo,” he said, voice raw. “I know that they would have had me disowned at best and killed at worst.”

“Genji…” Hanzo started, not knowing how to respond.

“I will not let them make you a puppet, a pawn to their greed,” he wrapped his fingers around his brother’s, still chilled from the glass in his hands. “As you have protected me, I will protect you.”

Hanzo stared at his brother, wondering when he had become so mature.

A knock at the door startled the both of them, Genji jumping up and running to check through the peep hole. He barely hesitated before flinging the door open, letting a snow-covered Jesse fall through.

“Shit, it’s really startin’ to come down out there!” He shivered, stomping his boots off in the entryway before pulling them off. “Came as fast as I could. How is he?”

“Better,” Genji said, leading him over to where Hanzo was in the living room, staring wide-eyed at the new arrival. “We’re both still a bit… shaken.”

Jesse crouched down next to Hanzo, checking him over before glancing back to Genji, “Do you need to call someone, too?” He asked, not unkindly.

Genji shook his head, “I already have. He said he would come by first thing in the morning. He is out of town.”

Jesse nodded. “You be sure to let me know if you need anything, or call your friend.” He turned back to Hanzo, lifting his hand up to touch his cheek before stopping. “Is this okay?”

“I am not made of glass, Jesse,” Hanzo snapped before stopping. He quickly set his glass on the coffee table before grabbing at his lover’s hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t…” He looked away, guilt evident on his face. “I should not have taken this out on you.”

“I know you’re stressed honey,” Jesse said softly, turning his hand over to rub his thumb across Hanzo’s knuckles. “You don’t need to tell me what about, but know that I’m here for ya.”

A low whine left Hanzo’s throat unbidden. He gently laid his forehead against Jesse’s, breathing in the warm scent of coffee beans and musky leather. Jesse must have come straight from work. “Thank you, Jesse.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” Jesse rumbled.

Beside them, Genji shuffled. “I had hoped we would meet under better circumstances,” he chuckled wryly.

Without releasing Hanzo’s hands, Jesse tipped his head, with a small laugh, “Well, howdy. Nice to meet ya.”

“I see you were instantly drawn to his cowboy charm, brother,” Genji teased, shoulders relaxing as the tension slowly began to seep out of the room.

Hanzo rolled his eyes and the room felt even lighter. “He has other charms as well.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it, for him to catch your eye.”

Jesse flushed, “hey now…”

“Hush,” Hanzo pecked him quickly on the lips to silence him. “It is a compliment.”

Jesse grinned.

They sat together in the living room, gently bantering with each other and studiously ignoring the card under the coffee table. Jesse moved to sit next to Hanzo on the couch, hands still clasped, and Hanzo’s legs laid across his own. He was still tense, but seemed to take comfort in Jesse’s presence.

Genji was glad he had stolen Hanzo’s phone to message him.

It wasn’t long before Hanzo became exhausted, opting to retire early. Genji promised him that he would be okay for the night and that he would call Zenyatta again before he went to sleep. Hanzo gave in to a swift, firm hug from his brother before he dragged Jesse behind him to his room.

Door closed, Jesse sat on the bed, Hanzo shuffling with his belongings by his dresser for a moment before he finally spoke. “Thank you for coming, Jesse. I assume my brother contacted you?”

“Mhmmm,” Jesse nodded. “Said you were acting strange, looked like you were having a panic attack.”

Hanzo grunted, the description seemed apt. He felt a slight shame for letting such a feeling overtake him. He was supposed to have more control…

“Hey,” Jesse called out softly, dragging Hanzo’s attention from the bow hung above his chest of drawers. Jesse shifted to lay down on the bed, patting the open space next to him. “C’mere, let me hold you a little.”

A smile snuck its way onto Hanzo’s face and he obliged, not bothering to remove his jeans or anything before sidling up next to his boyfriend. Jesse wrapped an arm around him, pulling him snug and letting him feel the easy rise and fall of his chest.

“I’m sorry today was hard,” Jesse whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “But rest easy now. I’ve got ya, and we’ll figure something out in the mornin’.”

Hanzo tightened his hold around Jesse’s middle, warm tears gently sliding down his cheeks to soak into the plaid beneath. He was okay. Genji was okay. Jesse was okay.

In that moment, they were safe.

=x=x=x=

**Author's Note:**

> So uh... I know y'all were enjoying the fluff but this had to happen eventually. In our own lives, the holidays aren't always peace and joy, even in the best of circumstances. I hope that if any of you are having a hard time during the season, that you have someone to reach out to and let help you. Take good care of yourselves! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, and I'll see ya tomorrow! ^^
> 
> [[EDIT: So, I'm 1000% exhausted from my work week. I don't want to rush out a bad fic, so I will post the following segment a day late when I can think again. Thank you all so much for your patience, and feel free to peruse my other fics if you like in the meantime ^^]]
> 
>  
> 
> [Ko-Fi!](https://ko-fi.com/S6S35W8B)


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